Tuesday, January 15, 2013

UNCONVENTIONAL MATE by Stormy Glenn

UNCONVENTIONAL MATE

Katzman
5

Nari Khenti is running for
his life. His contract holder has been murdered and he’s accused of the crime.
Now, the real killer is after him, intent on killing Nari. The only place he can
think of hiding is on Katzmann.

Semyon Barak is concerned
when Doctor Saris tells him someone stowed away on his ship until he realizes
that the gorgeous green eyed man is his ate—his very pregnant mate. Now he has
to figure out how to keep the frightened man safe while keeping the hardest
truth from them…the fact that they are mates.

Taking Nari into the desert
might not be the best choice possible but it’s the only one Semyon has because
the man after Nari is closing in on them and he has the power of the Elquone
thrown behind him. Semyon will have to use every bit of training he’s ever had
to keep his mate and their child alive because if the dangers of the desert
don’t kill them, the bands of roaming bandits just
might.

“Okay.” Saris started wringing his hands together as he
walked away from Chellak and began pacing. “I was going through the supplies
that Semyon had brought in on his last mission when I came across a box that
wasn’t on the manifest. At first, I didn’t think much about it. Mix-ups like
that happen, you know?”

“But?” Chellak encouraged.

Saris tossed his hand up in the air again, looking
exasperated. “But the damn box started making tapping
noises.”

“There was someone in the box?” Why hadn’t he heard
anything when he checked the supplies? Hell, how had he missed an extra box that
wasn’t on the manifest? He usually wasn’t so oblivious.

Semyon was very stringent when it came to loading his
ship. For someone to get an unmarked box past him was a feat. Now he was just as
curious as Chellak. He also wanted to know who in the hell had gotten past him.

“Yes. His name is Nari. He’s the man Garret was telling
me about, the one the rumors are about.”

Chellak sighed as he walked back over to sit behind his
desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment and then clasped his hands
together. “From the beginning, Saris. What rumors?”

“Nari
is Brüter. He entered into a contract with a man off world. It seemed to be a
good match from everything I heard, and then suddenly Nari was brought back to
Elquone to face charges that he killed the contract holder. When it was
discovered that Nari was carrying, his execution was held off until after the
child is born, which is in about two month, give or take a
week.”

“Wait,” Semyon said as he stepped toward the doctor,
feeling a sudden unfamiliar urge to know everything about the rumors Saris had
heard. “I thought he was being brought back to face charges. I didn’t hear you
say that he was found guilty in a trial.”

“That’s because there was no trial.” Saris’s words were
controlled.

“Then how–“

“The family of the man Nari was charged with killing
comes from money, a lot of money. They greased the right palms and the High
Ruler declared Nari guilty without a trial.”

“Can he do that?” Semyon asked as he looked at
Chellak.

“I don’t think so, but things are still pretty
precarious on Elquone since the last High Ruler died. I’m sure a lot of things
go on that aren’t exactly above board.”

“Nari says he didn’t kill the man. It was the guy’s
brother,” Saris quickly added.

“Do you believe him?” Chellak
asked.

Saris’s lips thinned and he looked pensive, as if he was
truly giving the question some thought. “I can’t honestly say. I know Nari is
terrified. The brother is demanding the babe be turned over to him as required
by the contract. He is saying that the babe is the only thing he has left of his
brother.”

“Yes, and that’s what they are using to convict Nari.
They say that he killed the contract holder in order to keep his babe. Word is
that Nari is insane.”

When Saris pulled out a vid-pad and held it out to
Chellak, Semyon peeked down at the information before the vid-pad passed into
Chellak’s hands. His breathe caught in his throat when he saw the vivid green
eyes staring back at him from the picture of the man in the
contract.

Those eyes mystified him. There was so much hope and
determination in them. How could a man with that kind of outlook on life become
a cold blooded killer?

“Is he insane?” Semyon asked.

“I think he’s terrified.” Sadness sapped the color from
Saris’s face. “They want to take his babe from him. I think he has a right to be
terrified.” Saris looked up. There were tears in his eyes as he glanced over at
Semyon and Chellak. “I would be if someone tried to take my
baberen.”

“Is there anything we can do to help him?” There had to
be something. Semyon didn’t know the guy but he felt for him. And that was
strange. Semyon didn’t tend to make a lot of personal friendships, not after
watching Bogden—the shaikh of the Leonid pride on Katzmann—get betrayed by
another warrior. It had almost cost Bogden his life–and his mate. Semyon never
wanted to be put in that position.

“If we continue to hide him here on Katzmann, Chellak
could get in trouble with the Federation. But, if we turn him over to the High
Ruler of Elquone, then Nari will lose his babe and be executed,” Saris said as
if he were truly split on what to do.

“I’ll take him.” It was a bold statement. Semyon barely
registered what came out of his mouth before both Saris and Chellak were staring
at him like he might be as crazy as Nari. Maybe he was, but Semyon couldn’t
allow Nari to be killed for a crime he hadn't even had a chance to have a trial
for. It wasn’t right, and Semyon wasn’t going to allow the man to come to any
harm.

“Semyon,” Chellak said slowly, “do you know what you’re
saying?”

Not really.

“If I sign a contract with Nari and claim him according
to Katzman law, it should keep them from forcing him to return to Elquone and
keep Chellak from being caught in the middle of this shit
storm.”

“Semyon, you can’t mate with someone that isn’t your
mate,” Chellak insisted with adamancy. “Even you now
that.”

Semyon grabbed the vid-pad from Chellak and stared down
at the man’s green eyes again. He could feel something move inside of him,
something he had not experienced before–at least, not on this
level.

The urge to protect the man and his unborn babe became
almost more impetrative than the duty he felt toward Chellak Rai, and that was
something he had lived by for more years than he could count. He felt an
overwhelming need to physically claim the man, to protect him and cherish
him.

And that was insane, because it could only mean one
thing.

“I think he is my mate.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Nari’s hands clutched in the blankets on either side of
him as Semyon’s mouth moved along the vulnerable arch of his throat, lavishing
his skin with kisses and little nips from his sharp teeth. When that wasn’t
enough, Nari reached up and fisted his hand in Semyon’s hair, holding the man’s
head to him.

“Need you so much, Nari.” Semyon’s voice seemed to glide
over Nari’s body like the brush of silken sheets against his skin. It made him
ache with want. “Always going to need you,” Semyon whispered along Nari’s
sensitive skin.

Nari shuddered. He couldn’t explain the indisputable
bond between them. There was some force beyond his comprehension, driving him
toward Semyon, making him want to beg for the man’s touch. He just no longer
cared what it was, or even why it was.

Nari licked his dry lips nervously, needing to touch
Semyon as much as he needed to feel his touch. Semyon’s rough, rasping tongue
stroked over his neck. When Semyon’s mouth closed over the mating mark, sucking
at the flesh softly, tenderly, Nari felt his cock swell and
pulse.

“My mayht, always mine,” Semyon whispered
against Nari’s skin.

Semyon’s golden eyes glittered with sexual intent as the
man raised his head and gazed down at Nari. His cheekbones appeared flushed
beneath the dark tan, his lips fuller, more sensual. They looked
kissable.

Much to Nari’s relief, Semyon leaned down and latched
onto his mouth. Their tongues danced together, gently exploring, tasting, until
air became a necessity. They both drew deep drags of air into their lungs. Their
lips met seconds later but this time it wasn't the slow gentle kiss it had been
before. This time it was out of control, frantic, and filled with everything
needy.

When Semyon lifted his head and gazed down at Nari,
there was a feral light in his eyes that almost scared Nari. If it wasn’t for
the gentle way that Semyon caressed his skin and moved down his body, Nari would
have questioned his intentions.

Nari licked his lips, starting to pant with need as
Semyon spread his legs and knelt between them, crying out when he felt Semyon’s
fingers brush over his tight entrance. He squirmed when Semyon pushed his legs
up, fighting for breath.

Semyon’s tongue slid down to Nari’s puckered hole and
swirled around. Nari gasped for breath as Semyon licked him, Semyon’s growls of
pleasure echoing through his body. He could feel a wild, uncontrollable
sensation building. His body tingled. The pressure increased as Semyon’s tongue
stroked around his ass, over it, pushing gently but insistently against his
tight opening.

“Semyon.” Nari’s plea was a breathless moan as his hands
went to Semyon’s shoulders, his nails biting into the man’s tanned skin. He
needed. “Please.”

Semyon was up and between his legs before Nari could
barely register the man moving. Nari gasped as the thick length of Semyon’s cock
slid into him, stretching him. One hard thrust buried the thick erection into
Nari’s body to the hilt.

Nari watched Semyon’s handsome face stiffen, his jaw
ticking as he fought for control. His eyes closed and his body went tight,
tense. Nari’s breath caught in his throat as he watched, entranced. Semyon was a
creature of pure beauty as his control fought his need for
pleasure.

Semyon’s eyes opened just as quickly as they had closed.
He started moving, thrusting his hard length in and out of Nari’s tight hole.
The burning intensity in Semyon’s eyes as he looked down at Nari made him gasp.
No one had ever looked at him with such need, such want, or with such
tenderness. Nari felt like he could live the rest of his life in that
look.

Semyon drove his cock harder and harder into Nari,
rocking the carriage with the force of his thrusts. Nari moaned
as the long thick cock that
seemed to fill him so perfectly brushed across his prostate with every
thrust
of
Semyon’s hips.

His head arched back as Semyon leaned down over him and
nuzzled at his neck. He groaned, shivering at the feel of Semyon’s teeth
scraping over his throat. Semyon licked the soft flesh just beneath Nari’s ear
before sinking his teeth in.

“Semy!” Nari cried out. He was held still by Semyon’s
hard body, his thrusting hips, and the sharp fangs imbedded in his skin. Semyon
growled around the flesh in his mouth, low, primal, demanding Nari’s surrender
as he drove his cock into Nari over and over again.

Nari’s eyes widened and he stared at the room of the
carriage in stunned silence for a second before his orgasm hit and he screamed.
His climax was like a tidal wave, tearing through him. He held tight to Semyon’s
hair, praying for some anchor to hold him to this realm of existence because he
was positive he was dying.